Afternoon, near Babilim's western walls.
The four arrows arrived at the capital safe and sound, though they mostly had to endure Taz's rants against Qutaibah, who could've brought them back using the Jinn.
Taz and her new servant, Yara, walked with the arrows until they reached the capital's gate.
Daghir stood, looked at Taz and said, "It's been a nice journey, wolf."
Taz crossed her arms and said, "Nice for you. I got stabbed, beaten and burned in less than a week."
Athir stood beside Daghir and said, "You should consider yourself lucky that Daghir found you."
"Go fuck yourself, Athir," Taz retorted.
Daghir sighed, then said, "I hate to side with her, but she's correct. Stop blaming yourself for what happened, wolf."
"We'll have this conversation later, Daghir. For now, I want to rest," Taz replied.
Daghir nodded, then said, "Farewell, wolf." Then left.
Athir waved goodbye and said, "Farewell, Tanaz." Then left.
Caleb approached Taz and said, "A word of advice, wolf." He stood before her and said, "I don't know if Daghir told you, but what happened to you that night could've been avoided."
Taz looked at him and said, "Learning your element is impractical and time-wasting."
Caleb crossed his arm and said, "Kemetic beast hunters are not the same as the Mesopotamian ones. Your element isn't suitable to kill one."
"And what methods would you suggest?" Taz asked.
"Simply put, both flames and lightning are weak against them because Kemet made them resistant against it. The only way to do it is either using my element or tools. Do you understand, wolf?" Caleb said.
Taz nodded.
Caleb relaxed his arms and said, "Farewell, wolf." Then left.
Yara approached Taz and asked, "Who's that person you all keep talking about? And why did he try to kill you?"
Taz looked at her and said, "There's Qutaibah and Rana. You have to be specific, Yara."
Yara was shocked and said, "Rana? That Rana?"
"That bitch was a beast hunter and a Kemetic agent; She's no mere whore," Taz said.
"But I saw her work as one. How can that be?" Yara asked.
Taz squinted her eyes at Yara, followed by moments of silence. She broke it and said, "Let's just go home, Yara."
She grabbed Yara's hand casually and pulled her along.
Yara grew surprised yet also curious.
As she walked with Taz, she pondered about her.
Taz never mentioned why she decided to take her, be it as a servant or a slave. However, the concept of slavery to her was known.
Yara never saw or knew about her parents. Her first memories were in a whorehouse, and on that night when the tiger sang. She felt that would be her final moment in life.
Constantly going from one brothel to another. Being on her back and letting a customer ravage her delicate body was nothing new, to the point where that activity was like taking a wash or drinking water.
And now she was adopted by a lonely wolf.
Is that wolf taking her as property? Is it claiming her as a channel of carnal desires? Is that she-wolf taking her in as one of her pups?
Questions followed by more questions raced through her mind.
But there was one thing Yara was sure of.
Tanaz was not a threat.
She knew about her being an arrow. She knew how brutal she could be. She knew her manly body was sculpted to become the perfect instrument of pain and carnage.
But she was not a threat to her.
Call it feminine intuition. Call it a whore's sense. Call it a pleasing delusion.
Tanaz bought her clothes only seen by noblewomen. She fed her the same food she ate. They shared the same water flask. They rode on the same horse on their journey to Babilim.
Unlike the Madams Yara worked for, the wolf treated her like a human.
But then again.
"Why did you take me, Tanaz?" Yara asked.
Taz looked at her as she furrowed her eyebrows and said, "What? You ask that question after spending three weeks together?"
Yara matched Taz's pace, then said, "You never used me, and you fed me well. You never degraded me and clothed me with fancy dresses. So, why?"
Taz chuckled, then said, "Which answer would you want to hear?"
"The truth," Yara replied firmly.
"Honestly, you remind me of a cat I fed when I used to work as a library keeper," Taz replied.
Yara stopped and retorted, "You enslaved me because I reminded you of a cat!?"
The crowds on the street stopped and looked at them.
Taz glanced to her sides and knew Yara had brought unwanted attention. She approached Yara, stared her down and whispered angrily, "You're making a scene, Yara."
"Men praised me for my beauty, and you compare me to an animal!" Yara shouted.
Out of the commoners, a man approached and said, "Looks like you ladies require a nice cock!!" Then the crowd laughed.
Taz glared at him and retorted, "And you require a meter-long blade shoved deep into your ass, you fucking pest!"
The crowd laughed at the man, which led to the rise of conflict.
The man became furious, rolled up his sleeve, approached Taz with a wicked smile and said, "Someone should put you in your place, you whore!"
The pervert didn't know he was insulting an arrow, which made his lecherous endeavor short-lived.
When he stepped into Taz's range of attack.
The man received a slash along his chest in the blink of an eye. His body instinctively fell back, and he screamed in agony.
Taz sheathed her curved sword and said, "Weak people should kneel before those who are mightier."
Unknown to Taz. She attacked a man who was not a peasant. He was a noble who preyed on ordinary women.
One of the noble's entourage approached Taz and shouted, "Do you know whom you attacked!?"
Taz crossed her arms and said calmly, "Enlighten me."
"He's the son of an advisor!!" The man retorted.
Taz raised her eyebrows, smiled and said, "Is that so?"
She approached the noble, sat on his stomach, gripped his collar and said, "Here are some words your father can relay to the king."
She punched him and shouted, "Fuck Prince Thabit!!"
She punched him again and shouted, "Fuck Prince Haider!!"
She punched him again and shouted, "Fuck the advisors!!"
She punched him again and shouted, "And fuck the generals of the guards!!"
She kept punching the noble to vent her anger after a humiliating defeat by Rana. She only stopped after feeling Yara gripping her shoulder.
"You're going to kill him!" Yara warned.
Taz swatted her hand away, stood up, panted and growled loudly. She spat at the noble's face and walked away.
As Taz faced the crowd, she yelled, "MOVE!!"
The crowd cleared the way for her as they feared her. Yara ran after her, knowing that it wouldn't end well for her if she stayed.
They soon reached Taz's humble house. Taz opened the door and went inside.
Yara hurried after her and grabbed Taz's shoulder.
Taz turned around and snarled, "What, Yara!?"
Yara stepped back and retorted, "Are we going to act like you didn't almost kill a noble!?"
Taz approached Yara, stared her down and said, "That cunt marked his death the moment he pissed me off."
"You'll get yourself killed!" Yara retorted.
Taz poked Yara's chest while she said, "If he and his family are men enough to try harming me, then I'll welcome them with blades and fists!"
Taz went to her room.
Yara sighed and sat in the living room.
The next day, morning time.
Taz woke up after a prolonged sleep. Her body felt numb and exhausted. She wore her green dress and took her dagger along.
She exited her room, strolled to the living room and found Yara asleep.
Taz approached her, bent down, shook her awake and said, "Wake up, you pale woman."
Yara half-opened her only functioning eye and said, "What's the time?"
"Late morning," Taz replied.
Yara sat up, flapped her hair and said, "Why are you awake this early?"
Taz stood straight and said, "Because I'm not a whore."
Yara stared bitterly at Taz. She stood up and said, "I'll go wash."
After a short while, they left the house and headed outside. They soon reached their first destination: a tavern near her home.
Before they went inside, Yara stopped Taz and said, "Are you sure about this place? It looks expensive."
Taz sighed, then said, "Why the fuck do you care? I'm the one who's paying."
"But you shouldn't spend too much money," Yara replied.
Taz pinched her nose, shook it and said in a parental tone, "Listen, woman! I'm your owner. I have a say on what we eat."
Yara swatted her hand and said in a frustrated tone, "You made your authority clear when you compared me to a cat."
Taz widened her eyes, placed her hands on her waist and said, "Is that why you're upset!? You felt offended because I said you remind me of a cat?"
Yara pouted, rubbed her nose and said, "Yes!"
Taz crossed her arms and said, "Cats are adorable!"
"Cats are evil and a bad omen!" Yara replied.
"Says who!?" Taz snarled.
"Madam Layan!" Yara retorted.
Taz pulled Yara's hand and said, "I'm not going to waste time arguing about cats."
They went into the tavern, and the bartender greeted Taz.
The bartender was a young man who took over his father's tavern. He had a beige skin tone and shoulder-length black hair. He wore brown garments that were appropriately fitted.
The bartender leaned on the table and said, "Welcome back, Tanaz. Who's your friend?"
Taz smiled, pushed Yara forward said, "This is Yara, a member of my household."
Yara smiled and bowed shyly.
The bartender smiled and said, "A pleasure Yara." He looked at Taz and said, "The private room number four is available if you want it."
"We'll eat on the first floor; I'm in a rush today," Taz said.
"Understood; please take a seat," The bartender said.
They went and sat at a table in the back.
A woman came to them and said, "Hello, Tanaz."
The woman was the bartender's sister. She worked alongside her brother in the tavern.
She had a beige skin tone and curly black hair. She wore a brown dress that had flowers knitted on it.
Taz looked at her and said, "Hello, Joanna."
Joanna looked at Yara, smiled and said, "Who's your new friend?"
Taz looked at Yara and gestured to her to introduce herself.
Yara smiled and said, "I'm Yara. A pleasure to meet you, Joanna."
Joanna smiled and said, "My, she's adorable. Isn't she Tanaz?"
Taz smiled and said, "She is. One could say she resembles a pale cat." She then looked at Yara with a smile.
Yara pouted.
Joanna laughed, then said, "That's true. I never thought of it that way."
Taz looked at Joanna and said, "I'll have the usual."
Joanna looked at Yara and asked, "What will you have, Yara?"
"I'll just have a plate of fruits," Yara said.
Taz kicked Yara's leg under the table and gave her a mean stare.
Yara startled, gasped and whispered, "I don't want to get plump."
Taz looked at Joanna and said, "Get her a plate of meat too."
Joanna glanced at them, smiled and said, "Understood." Then left.
Taz leaned closer to Yara and said, "What have I told you?"
Yara leaned closer and whispered, "I don't eat a lot!"
Taz leaned back and asked, "What happened to the meat I gave you that night?"
"Rana threw it out," Yara replied.
Taz bit her lip, groaned and muttered, "That bitch!!" she leaned closer to Yara and growled, "Why didn't you tell me about that?"
"Rana told us not to," Yara replied.
"Because of what!? Does that Coptic bitch think hippo meat is any better?" Taz retorted.
"I don't know," Yara said.
Taz sighed, leaned back and crossed her arms.
Joanna came back with the food they ordered. She placed it on the table and brought water and bread as a compliment.
Joanna smiled at Taz and said, "Tanaz, I can hear you from the kitchen. What made you upset this early?"
"Nothing of importance, Joanna. Thank you for bringing the food," Taz replied.
Taz and Yara began to eat. Halfway through their morning meal, a familiar man entered the tavern.
Talal walked in wearing casual clothing as if he wanted to hide his position as high priest.
He approached silently, took a chair and sat at Taz's table.
Taz looked at him, sighed and muttered, "For fuck's sake."
Talal smiled and said, "Not happy to see me, Tanaz?"
Yara glanced at them; She didn't know who Talal was.
Taz drank water and said, "I settled my debt, high priest."
Talal leaned closer and said, "Who's your friend?"
"I'm Yara. A pleasure to meet you, high priest," Yara excitedly replied.
Talal stared at Yara's eye patch, then looked at Taz and said, "You did this to her?"
"None of your business, high priest," Taz flatly replied.
"Is that so? You know the news spread fast about you assaulting the advisor's son," Talal said.
Taz stopped eating and said, "What do you want?"
Talal crossed his arms and joked, "I surely remember you being more excited when you saw me."
"Because you were less of a cunt than you're now," Taz said.
"Really? Because the only cunt I see is the one who places charm spells on others," Talal said.
"Like I said! The debt is settled," Taz said.
"It is," Talal said. He stood up and said, "I came here to warn you, Tanaz." "The royals and the advisor whom you beat his son both want you dead."
Taz glared at him and said, "Tell them if they want to meet their ancestors, I'll gladly send them to the afterlife."
"I advise you to reside in your uncle's home until this issue ends. For now, if you stay in your home, you'll surely die sooner or later," Talal said.
"Are you calling me weak, Talal?" Taz retorted.
"I'm calling you reckless and an idiot. You may hold yourself against assassins, but your pale slave will die," Talal said.
Taz glanced at Yara in concern.
"Listen to my advice, Tanaz, and let your ego aside," Talal said, then left the tavern.
A short while later, after they finished breakfast.
Taz took Yara to the library as she planned to use her free time to pursue knowledge about the supernatural and lightning.
As it was commonly known within the cursed people of magic, they had to grow intellectually of their elements to achieve higher forms of mastery.
When Taz arrived at the library, she quickly sensed something was wrong. She stepped inside and went to the clerk's desk. She found a woman who used to come occasionally when A'saal couldn't complete her duties as a library keeper.
That woman was a third-generation relative of A'saal. A princess named Roshan. She had a fair skin tone and a short black ponytail. She wore the library uniform, a white dress with the symbol of a golden tree knitted on her left chest.
Like her other family members, the king and the princes. She was noticeably tall.
Taz approached her slowly and said, "Where's A'saal?"
Roshan stared at Taz, let down her papers, then said, "Am I not competent enough to help you, wolf?"
Taz pushed Yara behind her and said, "The only people who call me wolf are either combatants or foes―Which one are you, Roshan?"
Roshan stood, stepped towards Taz with her hands crossed behind her back and said, "I'm the one who grieves for the misfortune that befell my family―which I love dearly. If only the cat and the dog followed their orders, none of this would've happened."
Taz stepped back and said, "I'll warn you because A'saal loves you, Roshan. This war you're waging is a losing one. Lions or not, death doesn't discriminate."
"The golden lion will deliver our wrath soon enough," Roshan threatened.
"Like the rest who challenged me, he'll die," Taz said confidently, then left hastily.
Yara kept with Taz's pace and asked, "Who's she?"
"An emotional princess," Taz replied.
"The peasants aren't supposed to defy royals, Tanaz!" Yara fearfully said.
"I swore allegiance to the king, not his spoiled family. We'll go to my uncle's house; you'll be safer there," Taz said.
A while later, at Ahmad's villa.
Taz reached the gate of her uncle's villa and found it closed; it was a rare occurrence.
She approached the guards and said, "Why's the gate closed?"
One of the guards stared at her momentarily, then realized who she was.
"Lady Tanaz, please go inside. The advisor is waiting for you," The guard said.
He opened the gate hurriedly and let her in.
Taz walked into the villa's courtyard and smelled the strong scent of tobacco. She concluded it was from Ahmad, who usually smoked his hookah on the roof when times were tough.
Taz went to the roof and entered the garden, where she met Nasya for the first time.
She saw Ahmad sitting on a large red carpet in the tree's shade. He rested his back on a large stiff pillow against the tree's trunk and had a rectangular armrest to his side.
He smoked his hookah, stared vacantly at the grass and pondered.
Taz approached him and said, "We need to talk, uncle."
Ahmad snapped back into reality, looked at Taz and said, "Sit down."
Taz sat before him, crossed her legs and said, "What happened after Thabit's arrest?"
Ahmad puffed and asked, "Where did you find the pale slave?"
Taz panicked, glanced at Yara and said, "She's not a slave."
Ahmad sat upright and said, "Like that sissy you held captive in your house, was he not a slave as well?"
Taz froze and couldn't utter a word.
Ahmad pointed at her with his hookah pipe and said, "Hajras wasn't subtle enough when he issued that slave permit."
"Uncle I―" Taz said.
"I taught you better than this," Ahmad scolded.
As the timing couldn't get any worse, Hajras walked in on them. He quickly picked up on the bad air and tried to escape.
Before he could leave, Ahmad shouted, "Hajras!"
"Shit…" Hajras muttered.
He turned around, smiled and chirped, "Good afternoon, father."
"Sit down, fat boy," Ahmad growled.
Hajras's smile faded, and he sat down beside Taz.
"Afra!" Ahmad called.
She approached him and said, "I'm here, master."
He pointed at Yara and said, "Take your fellow countrywoman away and keep her company."
Yara looked at Afra and said, "You have the same features as me."
Afra took her away and said, "I don't give a fuck."
Ahmad looked at Hajras, sighed in disappointment, then said, "What have I told you about owning slaves, Hajras?"
Hajras avoided looking Ahmad in the eyes and said, "They're a potential threat."
"Then why did you allow Tanaz to own one!?" Ahmad shouted.
"Uncle, I can explain―" Taz said.
"Silence!" Ahmad shouted.
"The man was already broken. He wasn't a threat to anyone," Hajras explained.
Ahmad took a puff from his hookah and growled, "How could you know? Did you make sure he wasn't faking it? Did you make sure he wasn't a pervert?"
"He was a revolutionary! It's either he becomes a loyal slave, or he'll get executed," Hajras said.
Ahmad pointed at Hajras, then at Taz and said, "Never own slaves! Do you both understand?"
"Yes," They both replied.
Ahmad pulled out an envelope from his chest pocket, threw it at Taz's legs and said, "Hopefully, what's in this letter will convince you to stop using slaves for pleasure."
Taz took the envelope, read it, then said, "Al Namer? That's Daghir's family name."
"Your partner's family requested your hand in marriage," Ahmad said.
"Are they that desperate?" Hajras mocked.
Taz punched Hajras's shoulder and said, "Fuck you, fat boy."
She let down the envelope and said, "I already know about their request, uncle. One of their women told me."
"Who?" Ahmad asked.
"Her name is Athir, an obnoxious woman," Taz said.
Ahmad took a puff from his hookah and said, "They sent the siren to ask your hand? That's unusual. What did she tell you?"
"She told me about the benefits I'd get for joining their family, such as status, wealth and connections," Taz informed.
Ahmad furrowed his eyebrows and said, "That can't be all? The siren always put some message in her demands."
Taz rubbed her palms and said, "She did pester me about making Daghir my husband."
Ahmad smoked his hookah and said, "Now, I get what she means."
Hajras rubbed his beard and said, "She's willing to give away their best man. Doesn't that mean she wants to use us to join the Aegis tribe?"
"There's no other conclusion. The one thing stopping them from becoming nobles is that they're a tribeless family," Ahmad said.
"It doesn't matter since I refused their offer," Taz said.
"Did you send them an official letter announcing your refusal?" Ahmad asked.
"No," she replied.
"Then the offer still stands. I'll send them a letter of my approval," Ahmad said.
"What? No!" Taz said.
Ahmad leaned closer and said, "Why not?"
"I'm not what you'd call a model housewife," Taz argued.
"You're not a model woman if you keep using slaves," Ahmad argued.
"At least the slave is controllable," Taz retorted.
Silent roamed their garden gathering.
Ahmad gave a glance to Hajras, and his son did the same.
"What was the name of that boy?" Ahmad asked Hajras.
"Which one?" Hajras replied.
"The soft looking one, we met him at the yearly noble's gathering once," Ahmad said.
"Nash? The boy who gets beaten all the time?" Hajras replied.
Ahmad's put his hookah pipe down and said, "That's the one." He looked at Taz and said, "I'll get you married to Nash."
Taz became frustrated and said, "I never even met him!"
"You'll meet him when the marriage contract is sealed, the traditional way," Ahmad said.
"No!" Taz argued.
Ahmad stood up and said, "Yes, you will. I won't have you running around collecting slaves anymore. Is that understood?"
Taz crossed her arms and said, "Yes, uncle…."
"Good," Ahmad said before he left.
The End